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What sort of information are you looking for? I would be happy to try to help. My MBA was from Cambridge; I have consulted with students applying to European MBA programs and worked in the UK for several years in the MBA admissions/GMAT world. At mbaMission we have helped clients get into top programs around the world, just let us know what info you are looking for. As a starting point, the most commonly recognized ranking system for MBA programs in Europe is usually the Financial Times rankings, http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2013. _________________

What sort of information are you looking for? I would be happy to try to help. My MBA was from Cambridge; I have consulted with students applying to European MBA programs and worked in the UK for several years in the MBA admissions/GMAT world. At mbaMission we have helped clients get into top programs around the world, just let us know what info you are looking for. As a starting point, the most commonly recognized ranking system for MBA programs in Europe is usually the Financial Times rankings, http://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2013.

Hi Jen,My questions are :1.Most of them are 1 year program as you know...so,should one consider these for career change (re: Industry change not job function change)?

2.Could you please let me know like INSEAD & IE whether LBS,Said & Judge also have rolling admissions and two intakes (for example, one in September 2014 and other in January 2015 for INSEAD)...?

3. LBS,INSEAD are top ones but in global b-school rankings (FT) b-schools like IE,Said & Judge are placed ahead of many top 20 US schools like Ross,Darden,Anderson (for IE only),McCombs...How do you see that for an International applicant & career changer?

4..For these European schools, is it always better to apply in R1 (if some of them don't have rolling admissions and/or two intakes) rather than in R2 like US schools...?

1. Re: one-year MBA programs for career changing... in GENERAL, I advise that if you are making a career change, particularly a drastic one, a 2-year program is better suited, as you have more time to explore options, take on more classes in particular areas of need, and of course complete the summer internship that can help greatly in your new area. However, that being said, many many students still use one-year MBA programs to change careers successfully, so it is possible. It depends a lot on what the change is and how it makes sense and what sort of experiences from the past may be relevant to the future career. Also in many of the one-year programs you CAN still complete a summer internship. If staying in same function but changing industry, it may be a bit less difficult as well.

2. Last I was aware of, LBS, Said & Judge used rounds of admission (in fact I know Judge and LBS have 4, vs many US schools with 3). Of course you should reference each school's website for deadlines for this coming year! LBS can be completed in 15, 18, or 21 months. Judge and Said are one-year programs. In terms of actual intake dates I do not know of more than one intake/start date at the 3 UK programs you asked about.

3. For your question about ranking and Said/Judge over some of the US programs, it really depends on what region of the world you want to work in and what career/industry... at some top finance or consulting firms, specific brands of MBA may be more appealing or give a bit more of a plus on your resume... but at many other management roles at a large variety of firms/companies, it is more about having a well-known program... if you are in the US, the US schools may have more of a bump... if you are in Europe, while top-10 US schools will still be best-known, once you get beyond that some US schools won't have the brand recognition abroad. Oxford and Cambridge of course have global recognition which says a lot (more than 'University of Virginia'), but again it depends on where you want to work and what you want to do.

4. You should apply when you have the best application you can put together.... earlier is generally better just because there are more places available in the program.

1. Re: one-year MBA programs for career changing... in GENERAL, I advise that if you are making a career change, particularly a drastic one, a 2-year program is better suited, as you have more time to explore options, take on more classes in particular areas of need, and of course complete the summer internship that can help greatly in your new area. However, that being said, many many students still use one-year MBA programs to change careers successfully, so it is possible. It depends a lot on what the change is and how it makes sense and what sort of experiences from the past may be relevant to the future career. Also in many of the one-year programs you CAN still complete a summer internship. If staying in same function but changing industry, it may be a bit less difficult as well.

2. Last I was aware of, LBS, Said & Judge used rounds of admission (in fact I know Judge and LBS have 4, vs many US schools with 3). Of course you should reference each school's website for deadlines for this coming year! LBS can be completed in 15, 18, or 21 months. Judge and Said are one-year programs. In terms of actual intake dates I do not know of more than one intake/start date at the 3 UK programs you asked about.

3. For your question about ranking and Said/Judge over some of the US programs, it really depends on what region of the world you want to work in and what career/industry... at some top finance or consulting firms, specific brands of MBA may be more appealing or give a bit more of a plus on your resume... but at many other management roles at a large variety of firms/companies, it is more about having a well-known program... if you are in the US, the US schools may have more of a bump... if you are in Europe, while top-10 US schools will still be best-known, once you get beyond that some US schools won't have the brand recognition abroad. Oxford and Cambridge of course have global recognition which says a lot (more than 'University of Virginia'), but again it depends on where you want to work and what you want to do.

4. You should apply when you have the best application you can put together.... earlier is generally better just because there are more places available in the program.

Hope that helps!

Jen

Hi Jen,Thank you so much for your detailed reply...Much appreciate it.

What I understand from your reply is that-only INSEAD and IE has rolling admissions/two intakes among the list of schools I've shared here...for the rest, it's same as that of US normal deadlines... right?

Deadlines do vary but each is listed on the school's website. Looks like Said is rolling now too. You can search for the school name deadlines and see details for each. Exact dates vary from school to school! For example:

Deadlines do vary but each is listed on the school's website. Looks like Said is rolling now too. You can search for the school name deadlines and see details for each. Exact dates vary from school to school! For example:

Hi Jen,This is in response to your reply on my PM..Thanks for the same indeed!

Honestly I don't have any rigid preference between Europe/US...Euro school was in my top choice because of their 1 year less expensive and quick ROI-driven program.But as we see the constraint, I've been thinking of focusing on the other Euro (re outside UK) schools and US programs...

You've very rightly said that after MBA I may come back to India..in fact as I've mentioned earlier that's my LT goal actually, but immediately after MBA, I'd like to see myself working in that country where i'll earn the degree. It's required for more diverse global experience and of course as far ROI is concerned (this is something Internationals need to consider very seriously I think..right?)...So in that line, UK seems to be not a great option at all with all their new rules & regulations.

And the bottom line is that if UK schools want a diverse class profile like its other Euro and US counterparts, they (re the UK authority) should allow Internationals to work in UK...Hope you'll agree with me _________________

1) I encourage you to continue to do your own research on post-MBA jobs and visas in various countries, as I cannot claim to be an expert in that area or even in the UK at this point even though I was there for several years. For example, I just came across this article from this spring that says that there ARE opportunities for MBA grads of UK universities to stay on for up to a year, it is a set # of opportunities but still very promising: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... ier-2-visa.

2) Keep in mind that if you secure a job FIRST in the country you are in, including the UK, the company can often sponsor a particular work visa application for you. I had that offer personally for example and it's fairly common, though not guaranteed, and you'd need to have a conversation with the company about that option. It's just more difficult to get a blanket visa without a specific job if that makes sense.

3) Also just a reminder that most countries DO have immigration laws and there are specific requirements to work there... the UK is not very unique in that regard. So if you are considering say France or Switzerland, etc, you should still do research into their work visa process and requirements and read about and talk to MBA grads from the programs you are looking at from your country and get advice and feedback there as well.

1) I encourage you to continue to do your own research on post-MBA jobs and visas in various countries, as I cannot claim to be an expert in that area or even in the UK at this point even though I was there for several years. For example, I just came across this article from this spring that says that there ARE opportunities for MBA grads of UK universities to stay on for up to a year, it is a set # of opportunities but still very promising: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes ... ier-2-visa.

2) Keep in mind that if you secure a job FIRST in the country you are in, including the UK, the company can often sponsor a particular work visa application for you. I had that offer personally for example and it's fairly common, though not guaranteed, and you'd need to have a conversation with the company about that option. It's just more difficult to get a blanket visa without a specific job if that makes sense.

3) Also just a reminder that most countries DO have immigration laws and there are specific requirements to work there... the UK is not very unique in that regard. So if you are considering say France or Switzerland, etc, you should still do research into their work visa process and requirements and read about and talk to MBA grads from the programs you are looking at from your country and get advice and feedback there as well.

Hope that helps!

Hey Jen,Thank you so much for your feedback...Really appreciate it

Re 1: TOI is the leading English daily in India and most of the aspirants rely heavily on its news(I did see the same )...Having said that, when I got to know the contradiction of this info from that sort of hi-fi source (as I've mentioned in the PM)-it simply left me bewildered and to clarify I jumped into the forum!

It can be confusing certainly; and there's no easy yes-or-no answer as like I said, many visas are applied for by particular companies that offer you a job, others are general visas that you get and then you can let the employer know you do have a visa already (so there are different ways to go about it and pros and cons to each). Good luck and keep us posted!! _________________